Where There Is Hate
by derangedperson
Summary: Dipper and Mabel get into a fight, and Grunkle Stan's latest addition to the Mystery Shack begins to show its true nature.
1. Crate Job

Mabel Pines sat at the window in the twins' attic bedroom atop a giant crate, sighing and tracing her finger through the vapor that formed on the glass. The weather the past few days in Gravity Falls had run the gamut from gray and rainy, to rainy and gray, and now, to out-and-out _rainy_-a steady stream had been falling since her and Dipper awoke four hours ago, showing no signs of letting up. And as if that wasn't enough, Grunkle Stan's latest impulse buy was taking up the middle of their room, and she was sitting on it.

* * *

><p><em>"Okay boys, that's far enough!"<em>

_The delivery crew dropped the crate in front of Wendy's desk as Stan wiped the rain off the box. The old man grinned in delight as he tipped the delivery guys with the spare change from his pockets and slammed the door before they could complain. "Alright kids, here's my latest purchase! Got it from some guy in Vermont for fifty bucks!"_

_"What's in there?" Wendy asked._

_"The guy said it was a piece of metal that may or may not be haunted. I figured with something like that going for that cheap, I'd have to be an idiot not to add it to the Mystery Shack's collection!"_

_"You've got that right," Wendy muttered as she returned to her magazine._

_"Now, the only question is where to store this thing until I can get a good look at it. Where to go, where to go..." Stan said as he stroked his chin in an exaggerated fashion._

_"Why don't you keep it in our room for a little while?" Dipper suggested. "If we put it between our beds, we'll still have room; it's really not that big."_

_"What's with all those pictures on the box?" Mabel asked. Closer inspection revealed that the design consisted of a St. Andrew's cross with an eyeball in the center of it, resting on top of a tree. Stan glanced at it and said, "Couldn't tell ya, kid. Probably nothing."_

_"It's pretty, though!"_

_"Alright, I'll be keeping this in your room for the time being, but under no circumstances do I want you to touch this crate! Do you understand?"_

_"We understand," Dipper said as Mabel nodded her head._

_"Good to know. SOOS! Give me a hand getting this thing up to the attic, willya?"_

* * *

><p>And now, Mabel was sitting on the crate watching the rain fall. She let out a frustrated groan and whined, "Aww man, when's this rain gonna stop?! We haven't been outside in three days!"<p>

Dipper looked up from his book and replied, "There's a low pressure system that stalled off the coast, Mabel. It should be out of our way by tomorrow."

"Tomorrow's too far away, Dipper! I wanna go outside today!"

"So do I, but there's nothing we can do. We'll just have to wait this out."

"Darn." Mabel pouted and sunk back onto her bed when her eyes fell on the crate between them. She grinned and began to tap her finger on her chin in a sly manner, saying, "I think I know something we can do."

A quick peek at her face told Dipper all he needed to know about what her intentions were. "Oh no, Mabel. Uncle Stan told us not to touch this under any circumstances."

"What about a curiosity circumstance?"

"I'm pretty sure that counts as 'under any circumstances.'"

"Well, I'm going _over_ the circumstances, Dipper!" Mabel jumped from her bed and grabbed a crowbar from underneath it. "Desperate times call for desperate measures!"

"Mabel, no-"

Before Dipper could finish his exclamation, Mabel jammed the flat end into the corner of the crate and began to push the lid up. As if on cue, she heard her grunkle's voice from downstairs yelling, "I TOLD YOU NOT TO TOUCH THAT CRATE!"

"Oh, I'm not touching it," Mabel lied. "I'm just sitting on it!"

"Fair enough! Just don't open the darn thing!"

"Okaaaay!" The young preteen rocked back and forth on her feet with a faux innocence before returning to her efforts to pry open the mystery box. Dipper slapped his forehead and whispered, "For crying out loud, Mabel! You're gonna get us in trouble! What if there's a mummy or an alien in there?"

"What if there's a bunch of sweaters in there?"

"Why would there be a bunch of sweaters in a giant crate?"

"Maybe someone ordered them in bulk?"

"That's not my point!" Dipper grabbed the crowbar and continued: "My point is, sometimes you've just gotta let sleeping dogs lie." Unfortunately for him, as he spoke, he began to lean on the crowbar until it snapped a corner of the box open and sent him tumbling to the floor. Mabel gasped in mock fright and cracked, "Oh no, Dipper! Looks like _someone_ opened the crate Grunkle Stan didn't want us to touch!"

"That's not funny, Mabel..."

"Let's see what wonders await inside!" With a grin, she lifted the corner with surprising ease to get a peek, and when she saw what laid in the crate, she gasped in amazement. "D...Dipper...look!"

"I'm not looking at anything, Mabel. You shouldn't have opened it in the first place."

"No, Dipper...you've got to see this." She left him no choice when she grabbed his arm and pulled him over to her side. Once his eyes adjusted to the form laying in the middle of the packing peanuts, Dipper gasped. "I...is that a...?"

"Yep," Mabel said with a smile. "Just like Grunkle Stan said! It's a giant metal bar!"

Indeed it was. Said giant metal bar was about four feet tall and six inches wide, and as far as Dipper could tell, reasonably thick. Even though every instinct in his body was telling him to leave it alone, Dipper helped his sister lift the lid, making sure to move slowly and not make any noise. Once it was finally removed, the twins stared at the slab, unsure of what to do next.

"So...what does it do?" Mabel asked. Meanwhile, Dipper had grabbed his journal and begun to thumb through it, looking for any clues as to what the object might be. "I don't see anything about this in the journal at all..."

All of a sudden, a gruff male voice rang out behind them, "Well, I see PLENTY!"

On cue, Mabel and Dipper turned around to see the frowning face of their Grunkle Stan, arms crossed and eyes narrowed at the now-removed lid. "You couldn't resist, could you?"

"Oh...uh...we..." Mabel stammered before hanging her head in shame. "We're sorry, Grunkle Stan."

"We didn't touch it at all, if that's what you're worried about," Dipper added.

"I warned you two not to open it, and you didn't listen. The Shack closes at five today, and when that happens, I want you two downstairs and ready to clean up shop."

"What about Wendy and Soos?"

"That's normally their job, sure, but not tonight. This is your punishment, and I don't wanna see you two weaseling out of it, understand?"

The twins exchanged uneasy glances as Stan tapped his foot with building impatience. "I said, _understand?"_

Hanging their heads, Dipper and Mabel groaned, "We understand."

"Good. Five o'clock sharp-be downstairs and ready to work! In the meantime, I've got a couple of rubes-I mean, customers-to take on a tour." Stan descended the stairs as Mabel put her hand on Dipper's shoulder and attempted to apologize, only to be rebuffed. Stunned, she attempted to do it again, and again, Dipper swatted her hand away and turned his back to her. Frustrated, Mabel asked, "Why are you being such a butt, dude?"

"I'm being a butt because I told you not to open the crate! Now because of you, we're indentured servants to Stan for the rest of the night!"

"Because of _me?!_ You're the one who opened the crate!"

"After _you_ shoved the crowbar in there!"

"Well, maybe if you hadn't suggested he put the crate up here, this wouldn't have happened!"

"Well, maybe if you had listened to me, this _really_ wouldn't have happened!" Throughout their fight, a low hum began to emanate from the crate, the noise going unnoticed as the two traded barbs.

"Oh yeah?!"

"YEAH!" By this point the two were nose to nose, faces red with anger, before they turned their backs to each other and crossed their arms. "Don't expect any help from me down there, fart-smeller."

"I'm not talking to you," Dipper spat as he stomped downstairs. Mabel sniffed and mumbled, "You just did, dummy," starting down the stairs after him. After they left, the humming increased as the metal slab began to levitate out of the box and a ghastly voice murmured, "Yes...I can feel your hatred. Feed...me...more..."


	2. At Each Other's Throats

Wendy was in her usual position: sitting behind the front counter of the Mystery Shack, feet kicked up and reading a magazine when she noticed Dipper come storming downstairs. Her face showed concern as she asked, "Hey dude, what's wrong?"

"Nothing!"

"It sure doesn't look like nothing."

"Well, we're doing your work after the Shack closes tonight because _someone..._"-he turned and stared daggers at Mabel-"...doesn't know how to listen!"

"You opened the crate, you creepo!"

Dipper crossed his arms and said, "Wendy, tell Mabel that I think she's sadly mistaken."

Wendy cringed at the immature display before her and said, "I'm not saying anything until I get the full story. What happened up there?"

"I don't want to talk about it!"

"You sure?"

_"Positive."_ Dipper tugged his hat down over his eyes and stormed out, but not before shooting one last dagger Mabel's way. She put her hand up to her face to block both the imaginary weapon and Dipper's face, mumbling, "Big dummy won't admit he did it..."

"What did he do?"

"You know that big ol' crate that came in yesterday?"

"Sure," Wendy said.

"Grunkle Stan told us not to open it, but Dipper was the one who did! I just suggested we peek inside, but nooooo-Mr. Mysterious over there has to go and open the whole thing himself!"

"That's not like Dipper at all, Mabel. Is there something you're not telling me?"

"Come on up and see for yourself!" She grabbed Wendy's hand and yanked her towards the stairs, causing the teen to exclaim, "Dude, slow down! I'm coming!"

* * *

><p>Upstairs, the attic was literally humming with activity. The metal slab had floated into midair and gone from laying prone to standing upright, floating back and forth. The voice inside began to speak aloud:<p>

"Finally. After all these years of imprisonment, there is enough hatred brewing between those two to break me free! Soon enough, I, Khadra, will be powerful enough once again to conquer this land and all who inhabit it! This prison cannot hold me much longer...all I need is a few more pools of malice and ill will and my escape is certain!" As the spirit monologued, he heard a pair of footsteps coming up to his hiding spot and quickly realized he needed to remain inconspicuous. The slab went prone and floated back down into the crate as Wendy and Mabel entered the attic, the preteen pointing at the opened box. "See?! What did I tell you?"

Wendy shook her head. "Wow...you were right, Mabel. I can't believe Dipper would disobey his uncle like that."

"I've been trying to get him to admit he was wrong, but he just won't! I don't want him to win this one!"

"Don't worry," Wendy said as she knelt down to face her. "If anyone can get him to 'fess up, it's me." She winked at Mabel, who grinned and returned the gesture as they walked back downstairs, neither of them hearing the being known as Khadra growl out a low "Yesssssssss..." in anticipation.

The clock on the wall read 2:42 p.m.

* * *

><p>Soos hummed a jaunty tune to himself as he went about gathering up a series of spare parts to fix up an old TV set that he'd found on the side of the street. He had removed the glass and was tinkering with the guts when Dipper walked into the room, cursing his fate and his sister for getting him in trouble: "Stupid Mabel with her stupid crowbar and her stupid excuses..."<p>

The portly handyman turned around to see Dipper raging through the TV screen and exclaimed, "Wow, you're on TV, dude! Congratulations!"

"I'm not in the mood, Soos."

"Really? You're always in the mood for some of my clever shenanigans."

Dipper let out a wry laugh. "Clever shenanigans...just like Mabel's clever shenanigans..."

"What are you talking about, dude?"

"That item Stan ordered yesterday that's up in our room right now. You know that one?"

"Sure. What about it?"

"Well, he told us not to open it, so I was leaving it alone when Mabel gets the bright idea to peek inside! I tell her no, but she goes and opens the darn thing anyway! Now because of her, the two of us have to clean up the Mystery Shack after it closes today!"

"Really? That's our job! Is Stan firing us?"

"No, he's giving you the night off so that _we_ can do the work! It's so unfair, and it's all Mabel's fault!" Dipper slammed his fists into the table, knocking the glass over as Soos reached out to grab it, catching it just before it fell.

"There's no need to get so upset, Dipper. Why don't you take me upstairs and let me see for myself?"

An evil grin crept across Dipper's face as he replied, "Gladly."

* * *

><p>"All I need is one more outburst and my imprisonment is over! Prepare yourself, world, for the great and powerful Khadra is ready to rule once again! If I had known all I would need to release me were two bickering siblings, I would have been freed <em>centuries<em> ago! Chalk another one up to the great ironies of the universe!"

The metal slab was upright and floating once again, practically dancing as an outline of a face began to form in the middle, a face that radiated malice and hatred. "Once I am freed, there will be no one...NO ONE who can stand in my-"

All of a sudden, another pair of footsteps ascended the stairs, cutting short Khadra's monologue.

"Oh, for crying out loud!" The monolith went prone again and descended into the crate as Dipper and Soos crested the top of the stairs. "What'd I tell you, man? It's all Mabel's doing!"

"You sure, dude? That lid looks pretty heavy for one little girl to lift by herself."

Dipper grabbed the crowbar and pointed to the sticker at its center. "Well, what about THIS?"

Soos looked at the sticker that loudly trumpeted **MABEL'S CROWBAR** and clicked his tongue in disapproval. "Sneaky sneaky, that's for sure. If you need any help in this, I'm your guy, Dipper."

"Perfect, because I'm gonna need you, big guy. I've got someone who needs a talking-to." Dipper tilted his hat and started down the stairs with Soos in tow as Khadra mumbled, "If they come upstairs _one more time_ while I'm giving my evil speech..."

* * *

><p>"MABEL!" Dipper screamed. "WE NEED TO TALK!"<p>

"Yeah! What he said!" Soos added.

Dipper stormed into the living room and began to pace back and forth, mumbling, "Get down here, Mabel, get down here..."

"So." The one-word exclamation caused him to turn around and see his sister standing with her arms crossed in the doorway. "You've finally come to apologize, huh?"

"If anyone should be apologizing, it's _you!_ This is all your fault, Mabel!"

"Oh, really?" The second voice rocked Dipper to his core as Wendy stood by Mabel's side. "According to her, you were the one who opened the crate."

"Yeah, after she shoved THIS"-he held up the crowbar-"into the box!" Wendy noticed Mabel's face go sheet white as soon as he held the bar up. "I told her to stop, and she wouldn't listen!"

"What do you mean?"

"HE'S LYING! HE OPENED THE BOX!"

"AFTER YOU STARTED OPENING IT!"

Soos and Wendy glanced at each other uneasily as, unbeknownst to them, the metal slab began to crack.

"Why don't you just admit you were wrong and we can end this, Dipper?!"

"Because YOU were wrong first, Mabel!"

"Guys," Wendy interjected as she knelt down between them, "this is getting a little too ugly."

"Yeah, dudes! Calm down before someone gets hurt!"

"AND _THAT_ TEARS IT RIGHT THERE!" Dipper screamed as he pointed at Wendy. "Of all the rotten things for you to do, you turn Wendy against me?!"

"No, Dipper, it's not like that-"

"Darn straight I did, and I'd do it a-GAIN!" Mabel broke free of the lumberjack teen's grip and shoved Dipper with all her might. Upstairs, the slab cracked some more as Khadra hissed, "Yesssss..."

"YOU STARTED THIS! YOU OPENED THE CRATE, AND NOW WE HAVE TO WORK OUR BUTTS OFF!"

"NO, YOU _FINISHED_ OPENING THE CRATE!" Upstairs, Khadra mumbled, "More..." as the metal cracked further.

By now, Wendy and Soos had backed away, rightly sensing there was nothing they could do and that the Pines were ready to explode at any moment. And eventually, explode they did.

"THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT, MABEL!"

"MORE LIKE _YOUR_ FAULT, DOO-DOO BRAIN!"

_**"I HATE YOU!"**_

_**"I HATE YOU MORE!"**_

Dipper screamed and charged at his sister, tackling her to the floor as their anger let loose in a ball of screaming and punching and knocking things about as Wendy and Soos trailed behind them catching the "artifacts" as they fell. To add insult to injury, it was at that moment that Stan and the tour group returned to the Shack and the unfortunate goings-on within. "And that concludes our tour of mystery! Feel free to browse-"

When he got sight of Mabel and Dipper rolling on the floor hitting each other, his face fell from a grin to a shocked "What the...?" as the scene unfolded. Stan being Stan, however, he snapped into action and dove to his great-nephew and great-niece, whose behavior at the moment was anything but.

Stan forced his arms between the twins and broke them apart, doing his best to keep his composure as Dipper and Mabel squirmed and flailed on either side of him. Unfortunately, their screaming and yelling was too much to take, and soon Stan found himself yelling, "STOP IT! STOP IT NOW! BREAK IT UP! STOP! WHAT THE HECK'S GOTTEN INTO YOU TWO?!"

All of a sudden, a loud CRASH! echoed through the building from upstairs, stopping the fight and turning everyone's attention to the attic. A series of heavy footsteps rang out as a black suited man who looked as if he could be in his late forties descended the stairs. His skin was a blue-gray color, his eyes blood red and pupil-less, his hair a fiery orange. When he reached the bottom, he pounded his foot into the ground for emphasis and fired rounds of red energy into the air, letting out a triumphant scream of "FREE AT LAAAAAAAAAAAAST!"

At that point, the only thing the people in the Mystery Shack could do was stare in slack-jawed horror.

The clock on the wall read 3:12 p.m.


	3. God, No

Khadra grinned from ear to ear as he surveyed the scene before him. The quarreling siblings lay sprawled on the floor in shock along with their elderly caretaker, mouths agape and staring at his glory. The behatted girl and large man stood in shock, mouths agape and staring at his glory. And the two peons standing in the doorway had fled in terror as he displayed his power, eliminating their chance to stand in shock, mouths agape and stare at his glory. No matter. He was free to wreak havoc once again.

Stan broke the silence with a choked gasp. "Wh...who are you?"

"My name, sir, is Khadra. I have been imprisoned in that accursed metal slab for the last eight centuries, but..." He turned towards Dipper and Mabel, kneeling down and placing his hands on their heads. "Your quarrel and your hatred provided me with enough energy to escape, and for that, I thank you."

Dipper stood rooted to his spot on the floor, a small spot of blood trickling from his nose. His entire body seemed to turn to ice as he stammered in shock, "I...no...no...this is all my..."

"M...mine too..." Mabel stammered along with him.

"I don't believe this," Stan said as he pointed at the ceiling. "You were there the whole time?"

"Of course, old man. Why do you think the merchant sold you the slab for such a low price?" Upon this revelation, Stan paled in shock and embarrassment, roaring, "I KNEW IT WAS TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE! I KNEW IT! _I KNEW IT!"_

Khadra cracked his knuckles and said, "Now, I do hate to make haste, but there's a world out there to conquer, and I do not intend to miss it. Good day, ladies and gentlemen." He opened the door and stepped out, firing his red energy into the air leaving scorched birds in his wake. The interior of the Shack remained silent until Soos broke it with a question: "What just happened?"

Wendy snapped out of her trance and yelled, "Utter freakin' chaos, that's what happened! That guy's some sort of hatred monster that got released because you two couldn't apologize to each other!"

"And that's something I need to know," Stan said. "What the heck were you two fighting about?" Dipper and Mabel stood with their heads hung in shame, unable to look at their grunkle.

"Look. At. Me. You. Two. What were you fighting about?"

Dipper looked up and said, "Mabel wanted to peek inside the crate. I didn't. She put the crowbar in and I told her to stop. I went over to say why that was a bad idea and I must have leaned on the crowbar."

"And then the crate opened," Mabel said. "When you punished us, I tried to apologize to Dipper, but he wouldn't listen to me. It's just been building and building the last few hours and you...you saw the worst of it."

"And this is the truth? You're not leaving anything out?"

The twins shook their heads. "Before we stop Khadra, you guys need to apologize to each other," Wendy said. "You have no idea how much it scared us seeing you guys fight like that."

"It was way scarier than that dude, that's for sure," Soos added.

"Tell each other you're sorry, and _mean_ it."

Dipper turned to look at his twin sister and the scratches he'd given her during their fight. He put his hands to his face and started to cry, knowing that this was all their fault. They had gotten into a fight for a stupid, petty reason, and now an all-powerful hate god was on the loose in their town. All because of an opened crate.

Dipper wiped his eyes and composed himself. "I...I'm so, so sorry, Mabel."

Mabel looked at her twin brother and the scratches she'd given him during their fight. Her reactions mirrored Dipper's almost to a T, and she wiped her eyes and said, "I'm sorry, Dipper. I'm so sorry."

Mabel opened her arms and walked towards Dipper, who practically ran into them and squeezed her as tight as he could. After she got over the initial shock, Mabel returned the hug, holding onto Dipper like a lifeline. A minute passed and they broke their embrace with weary smiles on their faces as Mabel cracked, "So, what do you guys say we temper some hate with love?"

"I like that idea," Dipper said as he adjusted his hat.

"Hey, if he destroys Gravity Falls, I'll lose my customers!" Stan exclaimed. "Count me in!"

"Me too!" Wendy said.

"Me three!" Soos added.

"All right, guys," Dipper exclaimed as Mabel grabbed her grappling hook. "There's a centuries-old hate god on the loose, and it's up to us to stop him! So let's do it!"

A collective "YEAH!" rose up from the group before Soos once again broke the mood: "Does anyone know how to stop him?"

A collective deflated "Oh, yeah" rose up from the group.


	4. Aura Of Pain

Sheriff Blubs and Deputy Durland sat in their cruiser near the local gas station, watching as the rain began to slow to a trickle. "Man, Durland, this has been a long time coming."

"What's that?"

"This rain stopping! Three days of this; it's crazy!"

"Well, there was a low pressure center off the coast that stalled-" He trailed off as a giant red beam cut through the sky and exploded in the clouds.

"Okay, Mr. Meteorologist, when's the next system comin'?"

Durland could only stare bugeyed through the windshield. "Hey, Edwin! Edwin! You listening to me?"

"Uh...Sheriff..." Durland pointed toward the distance as a flock made up of all sorts of different birds cut through the sky, flying away from the figure that approached them. The unnatural appearance of the man in question led Blubs to step out of the car and shout, "Sir! I am Gravity Falls Sheriff Blubs! Stop where you are!"

Khadra merely grinned and continued on his path.

Blubs drew his gun and shouted, "I said stop where you are!"

"You dare think you can give me orders, you portly little man?"

"LITTLE?! I'll show you little, smart guy!" He threw his gun down and charged at Khadra only to be lifted into the air by a telepathic red glow. "Wha...what is this? I can't move!"

"That's the idea, sir. My name is Khadra, god of hate. REMEMBER IT." With a flick of his wrist, he flung Blubs through the air into the forest and overturned the squad car to complete the carnage. As he marched past his first conquest and into the town, he began to laugh triumphantly. The middle of the street was his pathway as he approached the heart of Gravity Falls, and as he walked, cars braked and swerved to avoid him, causing many fender-benders and a Ford Explorer to overturn and land on its roof.

The god stopped at the outskirts of downtown, red tendrils flowing from his fingertips. "FEAR ME, CITIZENS OF GRAVITY FALLS!" he bellowed, calling the attention of everyone in the town. "I AM KHADRA, GOD OF HATE! YOU PEONS SHALL BOW BEFORE ME OR YOU WILL SUFFER AND DIE, NOT NECESSARILY IN THAT ORDER!"

One brave soul stood up and challenged him with, "And what if we refuse, Mr. God of Hate?" All Khadra had to do to answer his question was move his hand up and down, causing said brave soul to be thrown up and down in the air and against the hood of a Ford Focus before the god of hate threw him aside with another flick of his wrist. "Are there any others who dare challenge me?"

At 4:03 p.m. on a Thursday, the town of Gravity Falls, Oregon, descended into total chaos. People ran like bats out of hell and dove for whatever shelter they could find as Khadra strolled through the town, causing mass chaos and uproar. It was almost comical the way everyone avoided him, parting like the Red Sea as he walked down Main Street. Street lights exploded, car alarms blared, windows shattered, and as he reached the center of town, he shot rivulets of energy into the ground and formed a makeshift throne upon which he sat.

"BEHOLD YOUR LORD AND MASTER, GRAVITY FALLS! YOU HAVE SEEN WHAT I AM CAPABLE OF! YOU HAVE SEEN WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO THOSE WHO OPPOSE ME! AND THERE IS NO ONE, **NO ONE** WHO CAN STOP-"

"Oh, for crying out loud, SHUT UP!"

He never got time to finish his harangue before being cracked in the face with a grappling hook. It barely even fazed him as he turned to his right to see Dipper, Mabel, Soos and Wendy preparing to fight. Khadra lifted himself from his throne and approached them with a smug grin and false reassurance. "Ah, so the quarrel has been resolved. No matter. There is no reason for you to keep fighting, children. Surrender and I will let you live."

"That's not gonna happen, dude," Soos declared.

"Oh really, portly man?" Khadra stopped and extended his open palm towards Soos, lifting him into the air.

"Hey, cool! I'm floating!" Soos exclaimed as he rose from the ground. "Look, dudes, I'm Superman!"

And then Khadra clenched his fist. A dark red aura formed around Soos as his chuckles gave way to choking gasps of pain, with the god of hate exclaiming, "Surrender would have been so much more beneficial to you, portly man. I gave you that choice. You refused. Now, you DIE."

"SOOS! NO!" Dipper screamed.

Mabel ran to Khadra and began to hit him on his legs, screaming, "LEAVE SOOS ALONE, YOU BIG BULLY!" He narrowed his eyes at her and clenched his other fist, the red aura appearing around Mabel as she ascended into the air with ragged gasps of pain. "You wish to fight as well, little girl? Then you shall join your friend in his suffering."

Seeing Soos in pain was bad enough, but when he put Mabel in the same position, Dipper's demeanor went from scared to outright hysterical as he jumped on his sister in a vain attempt to pull her down, eyes bulging and tears flowing down his face as he screamed, "NO! NO! OH MY GOD, MABEL! MABEL, NO!" As he drifted between consciousness and the black, Soos found himself in enough control of his faculties to reach out and grab Mabel's leg in his own attempt to save her, with Wendy hanging off of him in an attempt to do the same as Dipper.

A satisfied smile crept across Khadra's face as he watched the pathetic scene unfold before him. "Accept your fate, children. There is no hope." He grinned and squeezed his fists harder before headlights coming from his left diverted his attention to an old Ford Thunderbird screaming towards him, a furious Stan Pines behind the wheel, eyes blazing and adrenaline flowing through his veins as he shouted, "YOU LEAVE MY FAMILY ALONE!"

Before Khadra knew it, he was on its hood, Soos and Mabel were back on the ground gasping for breath, and Stan was laughing at him.

"DIDN'T SEE THIS COMING, DID YA?"

"NO, I DID NOT!" Khadra smashed his fist through the windshield and grabbed the steering wheel, wrestling with Stan for control of the vehicle. The Thunderbird careened to and fro in the street, knocking over mailboxes and fire hydrants as Stan tried desperately to keep his family out of harm's way. It worked, to an extent, as Stan managed to rip off his tie and bind Khadra's hand to the wheel while leaving a parting shot:

"TIME FOR A CRASH COURSE, GODBOY!"

Stan opened the door and jumped out, leaving the Thunderbird to crash headlong into a lightpole, which then fell right on Khadra's prone form. When he came to a stop, Stan groaned in pain as everyone ran to his side, Dipper screaming, "ARE YOU OKAY?!"

"Yeah, yeah...I'm fine. Are you guys okay?"

"I am now," Mabel said as she took deep breaths. Soos, hands on his knees and gasping as if he had run a marathon, gave Stan a thumbs up. The elder Pines stood up and cracked his neck, staring at the wreck before them. "Do you think we got him?" Silence hung in the air for a split second before an irritated, furious voice answered their question from behind them:

"No, you did not."


	5. Hardware

A blast of red energy illuminated downtown as Khadra attacked the quintet with his powers, sending them running towards the local hardware store to find cover. As they sprinted towards the front door, Stan yelled, "PHASE TWO!"

"Right!" everyone answered as another red beam shot over their heads. Shattered glass lay at their feet as the quintet jumped through an empty frame and into the abandoned space. The lack of customers, and employees for that matter, had them feeling as if they were in a serious version of _Nearly Almost Dead But Not Quite_, and that was before the lights cut out. After his eyes adjusted to the dark, Soos grabbed a foot-long wrench from a nearby display and jammed it between the front door handles, blocking it.

"That oughta hold him for a while," Soos said as they raced to the back of the store, out of eyeshot of the entrance. They huddled together as Wendy, Dipper and Mabel reached into their coat pockets and pulled out pieces of paper with the sigil that adorned the crate drawn on it, courtesy of Soos. "Okay, everyone," Stan said. "Find something to put this design on and make sure it's lethal. If what we read is true, then this'll kill him."

"And I want to be the one who does it." The exclamation sent shockwaves through the group as they turned to Dipper, whose eyes were filled with rage and disgust. "Dude, are you sure?" Wendy asked with more than a hint of concern.

"I'm positive, Wendy. He tried to kill my sister and one of my best friends in front of me. And besides, I was the one who started all this, so it's only fair."

"I can't argue with that logic," Mabel said. "I saw a sticker-making machine on the other side of the store-"

"You really want to talk about stickers at a time like this?" Dipper asked in frustration.

"I was thinking of using it to make a sticker out of this," his sister answered as she brandished the drawing. "Stick it inside his coat or on the back of his neck, and boom! Down he goes!"

"Speaking of Khadra, how much longer till he gets in here?"

"Don't worry, dudes," Soos assured them. "I jammed a wrench in the door handles. He won't be getting in for quite some time."

"Uh...guys..."

The group peeked towards the entrance at Wendy's exclamation and darted back just as quickly. True, Soos _had_ forced the door shut, but in their shared adrenaline, they failed to notice that the entire storefront was littered with shattered glass, and that included the entryway. With nothing to stop him, Khadra entered the store unimpeded.

The god of hate turned his head from left to right, taking in the design of the store before staring straight down the aisle in front of him. Was that a pair of heads he saw peeking around the corner? It could very well be. He calmly strode down the aisle, making sure to draw out his actions and prolong their agony. Red tendrils flowed from his fingertips as he rounded the corner and fired...only to hit a pair of basketballs and destroy them.

"Hmmm...a clever ruse, to be sure," he said to himself. "Where could you be hiding?" His powers at the ready, he strode down an aisle containing cans of paint and wood stain, fixed on the sight before him: Wendy's coat flapping in the air-conditioned breeze.

"_There_ you are." A sick smile appeared on his face as he marched towards her, grabbing her arm and shoving his hand in her face...if there was anyone in the coat to begin with, for it was just that. An empty coat. Frustrated, Khadra wiped his brow before a loud, jarring noise made him whirl around and fire off a round of his powers, destroying the front quarter of the paint aisle as well as the activated mixer.

When the dust settled and he realized this, the god bellowed, "You are trying my patience! Realize that these cheap tricks will only get you so far, and surrender! There is nowhere-"

A metallic clank rang out from behind him, cutting his threat short. He paid it no mind and continued: "I said, there is NOWHERE-"

Another clank rang out. "NOWHERE-"

"You talk too much, you know that?" Khadra turned around to see Wendy brandishing a metal baseball bat, her eyes locked onto his, her free hand making a "come get some" motion.

"So you wish to fight," the god sneered as he approached her. "Well, I will make your defeat swift."

"Don't count on it!" Wendy shouted as she shoved the bat into his chest. The impact caused Khadra to scream in shock and fall to his knees while Wendy cracked the bat across his back, knocking him flat on the floor. She jumped over him and grabbed her coat, making a break for the entrance as the god of hate rose from his prone position just as quickly and gave chase, only to run into Soos, who was brandishing a lone paint can.

"What good will that do you, portly man?" Khadra laughed as he ran towards him.

"PLENTY!" Soos rotated his arm like a windmill and brought the paint can down on Khadra's head, scattering primer across the shelves and knocking the god down once again. The handyman made a break for it as Khadra righted himself, randomly firing his powers towards the entrance and sending merchandise flying everywhere.

"STAY STILL AND LET ME DESTROY YOU!" His patience fraying by the second, Khadra's path led him to a sticker-making machine near the clothing department. The sign on top of the machine declared **CREATE YOUR DESIGN FOR $5.99** and had a scanner and printer built into the left side of the kiosk for easy access. As he bent in to get a closer look, a dim light was visible beneath the scanner and the printer smelled of fresh ink, a small blinking light on the printer giving a notice of _Job Complete_.

"And what did you print?" he wondered. A set of footsteps ran at him from behind and he whirled around to see Mabel standing with a styrofoam cup in her hand. "Got a question for you," she asked. "You thirsty?" The girl threw the contents of the cup in his face and momentarily startled him before he realized that it was just water. Bemused, he cleared the liquid from his eyes and asked, "What was _that?"_

"Oh man!" Mabel cursed. "That worked in _The Wizard Of Oz!_"

He picked her up by the scruff of her sweater and brought her face to face, hissing, "Well, this is _not_ a play, little girl! This is REALITY!" A harsh red glow emanated from his hand as he prepared to fire, only to be cut short by a ferocious yell from above. His attention diverted, Mabel grabbed her completed sticker and stuck it in Khadra's coat as Dipper cracked him across the face with a crowbar, his teeth gritted in rage and his eyes blazing.

"DON'T!" He connected with his shins, sending the god to his knees.

"TOUCH!" A whack in the gut sent Khadra reeling.

"MY!" Another shot to the face.

_"SISTER!"_ Dipper swung with all his might and nailed the god directly in the temple, knocking him senseless. For how long, he didn't know or care-Dipper just stood there, breathing heavily and swaying from side to side. He dropped the crowbar and turned around, causing Mabel to gasp in fright at the sheer rage flowing through her brother. She started shaking him almost immediately in an attempt to stop it, exclaiming, "Dipper! DIPPER! Snap out of it! DIPPER!"

"MaAaBEL, I'm OooKaayaYY!" Dipper exclaimed as she jostled him back and forth. Mabel's cheeks flushed red with embarrassment upon hearing his warbled assurance and she stopped at once. "Are _you_ okay, sis?"

"A-okay, broseph! Let's get outta here before he wakes up!" The twins began to make a break for it, but were stopped dead in their tracks when Khadra roused himself and grabbed their legs. The god roared, "MY PATIENCE IS AT AN END! YOUR FIGHT ENDS _NOW!_" But before he could summon his powers, Stan jumped on his back and began to choke him with a broomstick, yelling, "GET OUT OF HERE, YOU TWO! I'VE GOT THIS!"

Dipper and Mabel cut through the arts and crafts section, grabbing markers, chalk and a charcoal pen on their way out of the store, jumping through the open space where the front door once stood. Wendy and Soos called out to them from behind a parked car and they jumped behind it, dumping their art supplies on the ground. Inside the store, Stan and Khadra had fought to a stalemate, with the elder Pines running as fast as his legs could carry him as the god of hate began to glow an angry red. Stan broke into a full run as he left the store, the cries of his family urging him along as a loud boom was heard inside the store and a massive red wave hurtled towards them.

"GET OUT OF THE WAY! RUN!" The group cleared out of their hiding spot as the wave crashed into the car, flinging it onto its roof and sending glass everywhere. As he ran behind a car with an opened trunk, Dipper looked inside and saw an ax lying on a tire. Every muscle in his body told him to leave it alone, but it was time, as Mabel had said, to go over the circumstances. He grabbed the ax and pulled out the charcoal pen, drawing the sigil onto the head of the blade.

"Nice choice of weapon, kid," Stan exclaimed as the quintet regrouped. "This'll do the trick fine!"

Dipper put the ax in his coat and peeked his head around the back of the car, looking for any sign of Khadra but only seeing the storefront. "Where'd he go?"

All of a sudden, a giant red aura enveloped them.


	6. God? No

_"ENOUGH!"_

Khadra clenched his fist and raised the quintet into the air, a psychotic, full-toothed grimace plastered on his face. His calm demeanor shattered, the god roared, "Did you really believe you had a chance? I am invincible! I am undefeatable! I! AM! HATE! And now, you shall suffer and die...IN THAT ORDER!"

His eyes were pure rage as he concentrated his power, squeezing his fist as hard as he could as he watched his victims turn a sickly purple. Although she was drifting towards unconsciousness, Mabel got Dipper's attention by nudging him with her foot and pointing towards the ground where Khadra was standing. Her finger pointed at the god's fist, Dipper strained his eyes and saw something falling from the clenched mallet.

Blood.

A surge of adrenaline coarsed through Dipper's body as he grabbed the ax from his coat and, with all the strength he could muster, crashed the weapon down on Khadra's clenched fist, severing his hand. The god screamed in surprise as the Mystery Shack crew fell to the ground, gasping for air as the god of hate stammered in shock as he watched his hand disintegrate. Beyond rage, he grabbed the axe with his remaining hand only to be burned when he came in contact with the handle. Another scream and a scarred hand later, he demanded, "WHAT SORCERY IS THIS?! HOW CAN YOU MERE MORTALS HARM ME WITH YOUR INFERIOR WEAPONS?!"

Wendy brandished her baseball bat and said, "Check your coat!" Khadra tore open his suit and gasped in terror-on the inner left breastplate of his coat was a small sticker of a sigil consisting of a St. Andrew's cross with an eyeball in the center of it, resting on top of a tree.

"See, we read up on you before we got here," Wendy snarled as she cracked the bat across his face, knocking him senseless and sending him to his knees. "That sigil is the symbol of the knight that defeated you. We took a look at the crate and noticed that crest all over it."

"A little research on Wikipedia and voila," Mabel grinned. "Instant hate god-defeating powers!" She kicked him in the shins with her sigil-encrusted shoes and severed his legs at that spot, sending him crashing to the ground.

"The symbols on the crate just kept you contained," Stan said. "We figured, if it can keep you contained on the outside, just imagine what direct contact can do!" Two quick jabs with his brass-knuckled fists had the god's senses reeling as Soos added, "And guess what? The more we read about you, the less godlike you became."

"YOU DARE BLASPHEME ME, YOU HEATHEN?!"

"Oh, we dare, all right," Dipper growled as he removed his jacket and his hat. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a marker, drawing the sigil in his left hand and, when he was finished, doing the same with his right. "There's nothing about you that even _suggests_ you're a god. In fact, you're nothing but a mere-"

_"SILENCE!"_ The red aura appeared around Dipper for a split second as Khadra clenched his remaining fist, and disappeared just as quickly when Wendy brought the ax down on his wrist, severing his other hand as Dipper screamed, "DON'T INTERRUPT ME WHEN I'M TALKING!" He balled up his hands and punched Khadra in the face, causing skin to flake off and expose his jawbone.

"You're nothing but a mere _human_ with delusions of grandeur_._ Eight centuries ago, you made a literal deal with the devil in exchange for your powers. It worked for a while, sure, but people rose up who didn't fear you, with one man in particular standing up and challenging you. That man's name was Douglas Fyrrh, and the tree on his sigil was renamed in his honor after he defeated you. To this day, everyone remembers the Douglas Fir, while you're nothing but a footnote."

Dipper let out a wry chuckle. "There's really no other way to say it, Khadra. All you wanted was power, and you got it. But in the end, what did it bring you? Eight centuries of imprisonment, a world that doesn't even remember who you are, and your defeat at the hands of a bunch of...what's the word you used? _Children._"

Dipper's harangue had its desired effect, as Khadra's mood had shifted from shock to one he had never before felt in his centuries of existence: full-blown panic. "STAY AWAY! DON'T MAKE ME DESTROY YOU!"

"Handless?" Dipper cracked. "I _seriously_ doubt that. Besides, look at you. All that talk about making us bow down before you and here you are crawling away on your arms and knees. Gods don't crawl, Khadra. And they don't bleed, either. You're nothing but a _man._"

"No! NO! I AM THE GOD OF HATE-"

"Yeah yeah yeah, WE KNOW!" Dipper screamed. "All shall bow, all shall fear-WE GET IT! But look in front of you, 'god.' There are five people right now who are not afraid of you."

"We've fought gnomes, robots, ghosts, an evil top hat-wearing pyramid dream demon and a psycho psychic!" Mabel added. "Did you really think you stood a chance against us?"

"STAY BACK!" Khadra screamed in panic. "I COMMAND YOU!"

"We are love," Mabel said as she put her arm over Dipper's shoulders.

"We are family," Stan declared.

"We are friends," Wendy said.

"We are coworkers on good terms with one another," Soos added.

"And now," Dipper declared, "it's time to commit deicide." He pulled the drawing of the sigil out of his pocket and shoved it down Khadra's throat, causing the god of hate to scream in agony as the quintet joined hands and surrounded him, staring him down as the sigil's power began to disintegrate his body. Flesh gave way to muscles which gave way to bones which dissolved away into nothing until only his skull remained, screaming one final empty threat:

"I...am...hatred...I...am...fear..."

"We heard you the first time." Dipper raised his shoe, the sigil plainly visible on its sole, and brought it down on Khadra's skull, shattering it into dust. As soon as the fragments dissolved away, a massive wave of blue radiated out from the town square, repairing all of Khadra's damage as it expanded. Within seconds, the town looked like it always did-rustic and charming. The force of the wave knocked the quintet on their backs and for a loop, but after a few seconds, they rose from the street to the sound of applause and raucous cheering. Dipper could only shake his head at the fact that two hours ago, he and Mabel were at each other's throats and now, they were the saviors of the town. He gave an awkward little wave to the crowd as he put his hat back on and tied his jacket around his waist. The group began to walk back to the Shack to the town's applause, Stan basking in the glory while Wendy and Soos waved and gave thumbs-up. And then, almost as if on cue...

"Hey dudes, the sun's comin' out!" The clouds had finally parted, and the sun beamed down upon Gravity Falls as if the heavens were rejoicing in Khadra's defeat along with them. _Man,_ Dipper thought, _talk about perfect timing._

When they got to the woods and some relative quiet, Stan glanced at his watch. "Well, it's 5:32 by my count. Closing time has passed, and after what we just did, there's no way I can force you to clean the Shack."

"What do you mean?" Dipper asked.

"We just defeated a _god_, kid. After that, a messy store isn't such a big deal."

"Yeah it is, Grunkle Stan!" Mabel exclaimed.

"Remember, you told us that you didn't want us weaseling out of it. A punishment's a punishment, and therefore, it's only fair that we still be punished for opening that crate."

"Oh yeah, that crate," Wendy said. "What should we do with it?"

"Put it in the museum," Soos suggested with a shrug.

"I like that idea, Soos," Stan said. "Once word gets out, people will want to see where he came from, so it's only fair that the Mystery Shack places the Godbox on display!"

"Can't we just put the lid on display or something?" Mabel asked. "It's got the tree sigil on it, and besides, I don't wanna see that dirty ol' box anymore."

"Me either," Dipper added. "The last thing I want is to be reminded of when Mabel and I tried to kill each other."

"Never thought of that, and you're absolutely right," Stan said. "We can keep the lid, and I'll take the crate to the museum tomorrow." As the Shack appeared on the horizon, Wendy pointed towards it and said, "Better hustle, guys! You've got a job to do!"

"Yes ma'am!" Dipper and Mabel said as they saluted her. With that, they ran towards the Mystery Shack with Mabel in the lead the whole way. "Come on, god-killer! Pick up your feet!"

"I'm running as fast as I can, Mabel!"

"Not fast enough!" The preteen reached the front door and threw it open, walking into the Shack first and heading straight for the broom. "Looks like you've got mop duty, Dipper."

"You won, so it's only fair."

"You're not gonna argue about it?"

"Mabel, after today, I don't ever wanna argue with you again."

"Sure, because you know you're gonna lose!"

"Mabel, please don't joke. Not right now." Dipper sat down on Wendy's stool and let out a heavy sigh. His sister's face saddened as she asked him, "What's wrong, Dippingsauce?"

"We've fought before, but this was a whole other level of fighting. What if we lose our tempers like that again? Sure, the odds aren't great that we'll release another hate god from his centuries-old prison, but..." Dipper hung his head and sniffled. "But it really felt like we were going to stay mad at each other forever. I don't ever want to feel like that again, okay?"

His sister climbed onto the counter and sat in front of him, saying, "Come on, Dipper! We're siblings! We're gonna have fights every once in a while-It's practically written into our DNA. Sure, things'll get cray-cray, but at the end of the day, I could never stay mad at you."

"Do you really mean that?"

"Of course I do, silly! You're my brother! Now turn that frown upside down!"

Dipper did so as he gave her a big, brotherly hug, which she returned with aplomb. "Thanks, Mabel. I needed that."

"Anytime, you big goof."

With a smile on his face and a spring in his step, Dipper jumped off the stool, put on cleaning gloves and an apron and said, "Let's get movin'-we've got a Shack to clean!"

"Last one to finish buys ice cream!" Mabel exclaimed as she jumped down and grabbed her broom.

With a determined grin, Dipper cocked his hat and answered, "You're on!" Within seconds, the sounds of laughter and friendly insults were heard in the Mystery Shack, putting a relieved smile on Stan's face as the trio walked in the door.

"What the heck's going on?" Wendy asked.

"Looks like they're racing each other," Soos said as he watched the twins dart back and forth from room to room, leaving clouds of dust and streaks of water in their wake.

"Of course they are," Stan said with a grin as he took off his coat. "They're siblings."

-END-

* * *

><p>Gravity Falls belongs to Alex Hirsch and Disney. Khadra belongs to me.<p>

Thanks to Dan Brodel for his help and suggestions.


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